Chicago City Council votes to ban lobbying by elected leaders

12/20/2019
Chicago’s second round of anti-corruption rules restricts aldermen and city employees from working as lobbyists and stops other elected leaders from lobbying city government for private clients.

TAGS: bribery, Chicago, Chicago City Council, ComEd, corruption, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, John Cullerton, Larry Suffredin, lawmakers, lobbying, Lori Lightfoot, Luis Arroyo, Michael Zalewski, Michele Smith, Mike Madigan, ordinance, Springfield, Terry Link

FBI, IRS continue raids by targeting 3 village offices in Cook County

By Vincent Caruso
09/27/2019
Federal agents raided the offices of three suburban villages, including one governed by a mayor who doubles as a Cook County commissioner. All three are in the district of state Sen. Martin Sandoval, also the subject of a federal raid.

TAGS: capital bill, capital project, Christopher Getty, corruption, Jay Hoffman, Jeff Tobolski, Kevin Quinn, Lyons, Martin Sandoval, McCook, Michael Zalewski, Mike Madigan, Tom Cullerton

Illinois House committee passes progressive income tax rates without public notice

By Bryce Hill, Austin Berg
05/25/2019
In a party-line vote that even fellow lawmakers were unaware of, Illinois House Democrats passed out of committee a progressive income tax rate structure that would take effect should Gov. J.B. Pritzker succeed in scrapping Illinois’ constitutional flat income tax protection.

TAGS: corporate income tax, fair tax, graduated income tax, income tax, JB Pritzker, Margo McDermed, Michael Zalewski, progressive income tax, taxes